Nuclear energy

The subject of nuclear energy is one in which the opinions of the experts and those of the public differ most widely, and on which emotions are most strongly charged. Advocates assert that nuclear energy (usually Thorium-powered LFTRs) will effortlessly solve the climate emergency and usher in an era of limitless cheap energy and universal prosperity beyond our wildest dreams. Opponents claim that nuclear energy will turn the world into an eerily-glowing post-apocalyptic wasteland inhabited only by horrific mutants[1].

Between these extremes the experts — such as IPCC working group 3 and the International Energy Agency, working painstakingly and thoroughly through the scientific evidence and models — find that nuclear energy is a necessary part of mitigation efforts with any hope of effectively tackling climate change, but is not on its own sufficient; we also need renewables, Carbon Capture and Storage, energy efficiency, conservation, and reduction,
carbon pricing, and every other significant resource we can muster to deal with the emergency we find ourselves in.

There are a number of articles about nuclear energy on this site, including:

What is nuclear energy? - what is fission, fusion, and radioactive decay, and what are the different types of fission reactors,